Thursday, March 10, 2016

It's not a bed of roses for UK girls on USA college scholarships - especially when the weather is as bad as it has been

Lesley Atkins ... two scary flights through thunderstorms in America

FROM BILL ATKINSJust thought I would mention that while life in
the United States can be fun, it's not all a bed of roses for our girls on golf
scholarships there. (Former Scottish U18 girls champion) Lesley Atkins' latest tournament at McAllen, Texas meant
three days of waking up at 5am followed by shotgun starts at 8.30am in
torrential rain and 30mph winds.

Lesley then had two scary flights through
thunderstorms, getting back to the University of Louisiana-MonroeULM at 2am. Then it's back to 8am
classes. You will be able to see why scores were so high in the
latest Texas tournaments when you look the reports of terrible winter sweeping the neighbouring states.Bill Atkins

Flash-flood and severe weather warnings were in
effect for a broad swath of the southern U.S. on Wednesday as the deadly
storm that slammed the region this week churned on.
The National Weather Service warned Americans
living in parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas to "act quickly to
protect your life," as the slow-moving weather system refused to budge
and threatened to dump up to a foot of rain.
At least one person has been killed since the storm moved over Mexico border Monday night. The relentless storm system has spawned tornadoes, high winds and thousands of lightning strikes across the southern U.S.
There were at least two EF1-category tornadoes
on Tuesday in Texas. Several structures were damaged in Cool, about 40
miles west of Fort Worth. The second hit Stephenville, around 60 miles
southwest of the city.
While unconfirmed by the NWS, a third possible
tornado near Tolar caused the most damage, destroying six mobile homes
and injuring two people in the town southwest of Fort Worth.

Video Shows Possible Tornado Touchdown in Texas
0:57

The storm was still in full swing early
Wednesday. A patchwork of severe thunderstorm watches, flood warnings,
and flash-flood warnings and watches was in effect for a 1,000-mile
stretch from the Texas-Mexico border all the way up to Illinois.
The heaviest rain was falling across northern
Louisiana, eastern Texas and southern Arkansas, which were all under
flash-flood warnings. Those areas could receive up to a foot of rain
through Friday, according to The Weather Channel.

Parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas were under a high-flood threat early Wednesday. The Weather Channel

"Move to higher ground now! Act quickly to
protect your life," the NWS said in its alert for these areas. "If you
encounter flooded roads, turn around. Don't drown! Most flood deaths
occur in vehicles."
Louisiana was already seeing severe flooding on
roadways early Wednesday. Up to four feet of water was reported east of
Shreveport in Minden, according to the local NWS station early
Wednesday. Further east in Arcadia, water was reportedly coming into
homes and businesses, while roads were closed across the parish.
The nasty weather prompted another series of
flight cancellations in Texas on Wednesday. By 4:30 a.m. ET, more than
two dozen flights had been canceled at of Dallas/Fort-Forth
International Airport, according to FlightAware.
More than 1,600 lightning strikes were recorded in just one hour in city of Austin, according to NBC station KXAN early Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there also were 19 reports of severe
hail across the region on Tuesday and early Wednesday, according to the
NWS' Storm Prediction Center — including some reports of "golf-ball
sized" hail.

The storms were expected to continue through
Wednesday, before shifting east Thursday into Mississippi and declining
by Friday and into the weekend.